Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by JimmieFrisbee:

Pours a very dark reddish brown with red/orange highlights, with a thick, creamy beigish head. Five minutes later, I've yet to take a sip but the head remains -- great retention.

Smell gives a hop spiciness, with a strong malty base behind it. Hints of alcohol in the scent almost stings the nose. Am I worthy? The bottle suggests I am not.

First sip hits hard initially... hard to tell if its the malt, hops, or alcohol. It all kinds of comes at once. It finishes surprisingly clean. Second sip, I realized how balanced the flavor is. Hard to isolate the parts I thought I identified in the smell, but I'm sure its all there. The maltiness really comes through on the back of the tongue, and I think the hops come through a spicy bitterness (not "hot" spicy, but they seem to be something other than just bitter -- for some reason, spicy is the only word I can come up with).

Nice full mouthfeel. Certainly nothing watery or light about it. Surprisingly drinkable given how intense the smell is, but don't know if I'd be having more than one or two in a night.

I don't have the regular Arrogant Bastard handy for comparison, but I believe if I had a choice between the two, I would choose the oaked version. Something about the finish seems more mellow. Very good, one I would definitely get again, but as I said not more than two in a night.

More User Reviews:

A huge Huge thanks to fellow Buffalo area BA Orfeu for leaving some of this and a few other gems on my porch tonight!Poured into a brandy snifter a deep amber infused with some tawny brown a big fluffy almond colored head atop leaving multiple sheets of lace as it settled into a soapy-like top.The only let down of this beer in my mind was the nose seemed a bit unasumming some faint vanilla and caramel and hints of orange peel.Oh man the flavors are definently Not unassuming where to begin here caramel sweetness and woody tones at first sip the vanilla from the oak becomes prevelant a big drying spicey hoppiness really hits and hits hard just making it oh so drinkable and balanced.As the beer warms the alcohol heat comes thru more but not outta hand,oh so beautiful a beer I just loved it.

Appearance  This one came out a pristine orange-brown in color and was brilliant. It brought up a huge, stubborn, monstrous head in every pour from the 3L bottle. The head clung to the inside of the glass leaving gorgeous lacing and went down in clumps of shaving cream-like foam.

Smell  The classic AB nose is here for sure. The malts are dark and come out a bit better though since the giant hop aroma is somewhat muted. Along with this is the oak. Its typical American-style oak meaning no big vanilla notes. These wonderful smells fade into a nice, deep, malty caramel at the end. It gives the impression of light whisky.

Taste  The Stone hop combination comes out much more at the taste. Even with the huge, dark, roasty malts coming at you full force they are still an even match. The malts darken up more on the tongue. Finally, the roasty malts and resiny pine give way to a light caramel and toffee finish.

Mouthfeel  This seems a little lighter in the mouth than the regular AB, although Id still consider it between medium and full-bodied. The sharp bitterness and sticky sweetness are softened by the oak flavors to give this one an incredibly smooth mouthfeel.

Drinkability  I hate to use the phrase, smooth as silk, but man oh man was this ever so. This was one of the true pleasures in life. What a treat.

Comments  This is probably the biggest session beer that Ive had to date. Skyhand and I had no trouble killing off this 3L bottle. Well worth the $60 that Stone is charging.

Update  Popped the 06 right after it came out. This is edgy right off the shelf. The oak is raw. I keep checking my cheeks for splinters. This has a lot of spank that needs to be cellared out unless of course you like a little smack to go along with your bastard, which of course we all do. I suggest drinking fresh and aging as well.

Pours a dense and deep amber color, almost enough so to be called brown. A thick, foamy, beige head forms atop the beer, outlasts half of the bottle, and leaves some excellent lacing behind. I've come to realize that most Stone brews leave tremendous lacing - this one is no exception.

One whiff of this one and you can immediately tell it's a Stone brew - it has that tell-tale hop character; dense pine, pungent oils and resins, and bittersweet citrus rinds and orange peels. OAAB also contains a fat, meaty, malt aroma backbone, one that's almost too big to call it just a "backbone". Toasted, steely caramels, sweet malt and barley, a dense woodiness, something I'm guessing is characteristic of the oak-aging.

Surprisingly enough, the hops are a bit more mellowed out than the nose would have you believe, and I'd go so far as to say the hops (the bitterness, at least) is a little toned down from the original Arrogant Bastard. Don't get me wrong, it definitely stings the palate, but in a pleasingly moderate kind of way. Flavors are still there, albeit also a bit more subtle; leafy, herbal, ashy, piney, with large amounts of oil.

The malt character in this brew is nearly 50/50, however, with lots of toasted caramel malt, burnt, sweet, sugary toffee, and toasted bread. The oak is even more relevant on the palate than in the aroma - a dense, woody character overshadows everything, slightly dry and rustic. The oak element really adds quite a lot to the integrity of this beer. The alcohol beefs things, making for a thicker and more robust taste without impeding or being too harsh. Slick mouth feel, with a body on the thick side, but not quite syrupy or sticky. Relatively low amount of carbonation.

Very impressed with this one. Compared to regular Arrogant Bastard, the hops are a bit more aromatic yet toned down on the palate. The malt bill is more prominent and the oak aging certain brings a whole new and tasty element into the mix. If you're a fan of the Bastard series or Stone brews in general, get your hands on some of this.

The pour was dark copper-red with a thick creamy three finger head that very slowly dissapated and stuck to the glass throughout the drink.

The smell was full of strong hop spice with a hint of malt and slight floral overtones.

The drink started with a kick your teeth out kick of hops the middle was all sweet heavy malt with oily lingering hops at the finish and just a slight hint of oak to hold you over until the next drink.

If you can still find it buy it now, this is by far the best incarnation of Arrogant Bastard.

A: A pretty ruby-brown with a one-finger khaki head that takes a minute to subside. Sticky, irregular lacing tops off the look of this bad boy.

S: Oak and stinky, weed-like hop aromas are the intitial smells to fill my olfactory senses. A good amount of grass and herbs straight from the earth are also present. Fruit aromas that I can single out include black cherry and raspberry.

T: The oak certainly plays a leading role, jumping on my side taste buds and remaining present throughout the duration of the sip. Cherry, plum, and a little bit of dry grapefruit also show themselves to my mouth. As the beer warms, the aforementioned fruitiness overcomes the oaky flavor as the dominant taste.

M: Pretty dry and tannin-y from the oak chipping process. Medium-bodied, but that dryness prevents a truly full feel from cascading over my palate.

D: I'm not sure that I would want to have more than one of these in a single sitting because the oak tannins really hit my palate hard. It is a tasty brew, and would probably do well to age a bit so that the oak chip flavors blend with the malt and hop character a little better.

A-Amber/copper with nice white head that laced while drinkning. Very nice lookingS-Mild smell, mild oak, some hop and caramelT-Very balanced. On the first sip nothing jumped out at me, but as I drank more, sweet caramel balanced with mild earthy/piney hops and smokey oak flavor thought out. Really like the flavor on this beer.M-Medium body, not overly full in the mouth but very nice for the styleD-The more I drank the more the oak came through and might discourage drinking more than 2. But I sure would enjoy those 2! Really like this beer.

This was my perfect beer of 2008. From the beautiful brown that bounces all around the glass to the mouth feel which is heavy enough to know you have something in there but not enough to suggest that you're having a meal. The ABV is in perfect balance with the brew's more earthy flavors. From the first sip to the last there is no wandering of flavor. This beer is in your mouth, to the point, and gone until the next sip. The after taste is pleasant and not a loiterer. You can smell this brew from a foot away though its ABV doesn't suggest how strong it actually was. All in all, I recommend this beer to anyone, and as a guy who cooks everything with beer; I must say that using this to cook would be insulting to its true purpose. Put it in a glass.

T-M- Nice hop bite with medium malts and oak finish makes this one a tad different than the regular Arrogant Bastard. Nice warming alcohol feel on the back end of the drink. Smooth for its style and thick mouthfeel.

D- Very drinkable and a great strong ale. Will find more for my enjoyment.

Poured from a 12oz bottle. This brew comes to me thanks to the amazing kindness of Hophead101. Many thanks Greg!

A: Delivered a lovely creamy yellowy cream finger and a half head. Color is a hazy mysterious dark copper color with lighter golden color showing through towards the edges. Good head retention and nice fine lacing.

S: Great malty smell with a slight whiff of booze. Upon further investigation, the caramel is a sweeter than usual almost butter-scotch smell.

T: Man! Quite a surprise. It's a lovely malty butter scotch with a hint of booze. It really didn't seem like the taste could match the smell but it does. Grassy and fruity hop bitterness at the end to finish it in a nice dryness. Malt is definitely the winner in this battle. The further the drink progressed, the more I tasted the burned, oaky type barrel flavors. Feels much bigger than 7.2 ABV. Really bold and complex.

M: Smooth and creamy. On the full side of medium body. Low carbonation that is gentle on the palate but just enough to liven it up.

D: I loved this beer. I found myself sipping it even though it was creamy and easy to drink. I just wanted to savor it. Stone once again earns my respect. Please come to IL!